We would be here all day if I told you how much I love the Gray family. I am forever grateful that they have allowed me to be part of such a miraculous and beautiful journey. I got to see them grow as human beings, as partners and of course as a family. You become thankful when you get to meet wonderful people and hear their stories, but to witness and capture it first hand is a true blessing.

If you have followed or seen other photos or blog post of Laurel and BJ, you know the story of how we met through Bj's mother Meg, and from day one we hit it off as friends. We had a lot of common, like she had said, over and over again. It was like I had known them my entire life. There wasn't the awkwardness for me or the weird silence, when you try to think of something witty or funny to say.. it was just totally natural.

Our friendship started off with their big announcement! They were expecting their first child. You have no idea how excited I was to finally meet them. They were so excited, she was glowing, and giddy... they were just what you expect when a couple finds out they are going to have a baby. Then after all is said and done, she tells you that even HE (yes HE) had fun taking photos, that is when you jump up and down with joy (I did, literally)!!!!

To this day, those photos are some of my favorite photos that I have ever captured.

We picked a date for their maternity photos and we decided to take them back down memory lane to Warrenton, Virginia where they said their vowels and celebrated with family and friends on their wedding day. The day started out raining and cloudy, we didn't think it was going to happen, but we held on strong to the hope that the skies would clear up long enough for us to take the photos so we didn't have reschedule. Thankfully, we got our wish! The skies cleared up literally long enough for the two hour photo shoot and we got to have fun along the way! They were again glowing and they were so close to meeting their little girl, they both were just READY for her to be here!

While discussing maternity photos a few months down the road, she told me that she was giving birth at Fauquier Birthing Center. An idea popped into my head. I asked her if she was interested in birthing photos and her immediate response was YES, I want them. June 10th was the big day. They were scheduled to be at the hospital at 7am, but little Avery had other plans. After waking up to labor pains in the middle of the night, they arrived at the hospital a little after 5am. I woke up early that day, which is unusual, I received a text message at 6:17am. "If you are ready, go on a head towards the hospital, I am already 7-8cm dilated!" HOLY MOLY, was my first thought! Second thought, this is going to happen a lot quicker than expected!! Doctors and nurses thought little Avery Dawn would make her big debut late morning or early afternoon.

Again, she had other plans!

Avery, again, had other plans! After hours of pushing, Avery Dawn Gray finally made her grand entrance into the world at 4:28pm after an emergency C-section. Weighing in at almost nine pounds and twenty and a half inches long.

That is a experience that I will never forget. One that I would do again in an instant. There are so many emotions going on at the same time, there aren't words to describe how it made me feel. I am more than happy, that I was there to be part of that with them.

This blog is the longest one I've ever done and my favorite to date... so without further ado, I'd like introduce the beautiful Avery Dawn Gray